Method of packaging and sealing perishable articles and the product thereof



UNITED STATES" PATENT OFFICE.

JOSEPH NUSBAUM, OI PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO P. I21.

SEARPIJESS COMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORA- TION OFPENNSYLVANIA.

METHOD 0] PACKAGING AND SEALING PERISHABLE ARTICLES AND THE PRODUCTTHEREOF.

No Drawing. Application filed June 7,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JosErH NUSBAUM, citizen of the United States, andresident of Germantown, Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Packaging andSealing Perishable Articles and the Product thereof, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, formin a part of this specification.

My invention relates to packaging and sealing, to preserve frommoistureand natural deterioration, small perishable articles, especiallyrolls of soft or uncured cheese. This article of food has heretofore andnow been commercially packaged and sold in small rolls, which areinclosed in metal foil,

such as either tin foil or aluminum foil, not only for sanitary purposesbut to enable them to be more readily handled in commerce and to protectthem from exposure to the air and its decomposing effects. Such methodof packing answers all these purposes satisfactorily,-

except the last named; and the single ultimate object of my invention isto seal the package in order to extend the life of the contents in sweetand edible condition.

To this end my invention consists broadly stated, in a novel method andmeans of producing a sealing effect on the foil-inclosed roll of cheeseor other perishable edible, and in the sealed package as the resultantproduct thereof.

The attainment of the ultimate object stated, involves primarily theemployment with melted paraffin of a combining element in a meltedadmixture with the paraffin, to cause it, when applied as hereinafterstated to effect a coating of the metal foil with a fixedly adheringthin film of paraffin, and secondarily of a novel method of applying themelted admixture to the package, the employment of the combiningingredient and the method of applying the mixture resulting in a coating0 paraffin on the entire package, that will not loosen or peel therefrom under flexure. I apply such means and that method as a bisis forthe present invention of a sealed package, and which I will nowdescribe.

A small sheet of tin foil or aluminum foil, of a size sufficient to passaround the cheese Specification of Lett'is' Patent.

Patented Dec. 6, 1921.

1920. Serial No. 387,224.

roll in the direction of its length and fully overlap at the edges andalso extend beyond each end of the roll sufficient to be folded onitself to inclose the cheese roll, is employed to form thereby acovering over the entire roll. This is now the usual and commonpractice. It is so packaged for sanitary reasons and to provide a morereadily handled product for commercial reasons. With such cheese, as theproduct packaged, there is no adequate exclusion of air and moisture,and obviously a constant liability to deteriorate in quality, if not incharacter, in a few days.

I have improved this character of pack aging by a subsequent paraffinsealing, which when applied by the means and in the manner hereinafterdescribed, will be effective to exclude air and moisture therefrom tosuch extent as to very materially prolong the keeping quality of thecontents, besides excluding all foreign matter, and hence make thecontents more sanitary.

In carrying out my process to produce such a sealed package, by means ofa coating of paraffin as a sealing medium, it is desirable not only tomake this coating as a very thin and transparent film so that thedescriptive printing or label usually printed directly. on the surfaceof the foil may be clearly seen, but essential to cause such asubstantial adherence of the paraflin film to the foil that it willpractically unite with or firmly adhere to the surface thereof,sufficiently, at least, to prevent loosening or peeling therefrom underflexure due to ordinary handling of the sealed package.

I am aware that efforts have been made heretofore, by means ofpreliminarily-applied heat to tin foil, and simultaneouslyappliedpressure to both elements, to so attach a thin coating of paraffin toone or both sides of the foil, but my process differs radicallytherefrom, and the products of each are not comparable in the quality ofadherence above referred to; my product. responding satisfactorily toflexure without loosening or peeling off, and is roductive of extremethinness of the deposited coating, which is substantially transparent. 7

I have found from repeated experiments that pure beeswax will when avery small percentage of resin is added, both admixed with the meltedparaffin, cause the paraffin to efiectually attach itself to thesurfaceof the foil so as practically to become a fixed part of its surface; andI have further found that dipping the foil into a hot body of the saidcomposition, rather than pouring or otherwise similarly applying meltedparafiin to a fixed body of the foil, whether the latter be hot or cold,eflects not only a thinner and more transparent deposit thereon of theparaflin coating but a more even distribution of it; and that dippingtakes up less unnecessary quantity of the paraflin, which, if promptlyfollowed by a slight vibration of the coated foil on a suitable holderremoves substantially all surplus, leaving an exceedingly thin and transarent coatin fixedly attached to the sur ace of the 011 and capable offlexure without disturbing the adherence of the coating under ordinarycommercial usage. In the practice of my process, I use commercialtin-foil, or commercial aluminum foil, of a suitable thickness for thepurpose to which-"it is to be ultimately used; and commercial paraflinof a grade which is white inrolpr, is known as a purified. product ofthe-distillation of crude etroleum and a by-product in the manu actureof gasolene, and melts at a. temperature varying from about 122 to 127F.; pure natural beeswax, preferably excluding any adulteratedcommercial beeswax, which is a light lemon in color and has a meltingpoint of about 65 C. or very nearly the same as pure parafiin; andcommercial resin, which, if pure and unadulterated softens at 70 C. andmelts at 100 C.

Applying the process a suitablevessel, the sai ingredients, in theproportion of 85 parts by weight, of paraflin, and 15 parts of beeswaxand resin, the latter not exceeding 5 parts.

As commercial resin usually contains some non-soluble material or somepart thereof which is not readily soluble at the melting tem erature towhich the other elements are sub ected, I recommend that it be suspended(practically I melt in ortion to ooze may be slightly vibrated to shakeoff surplus coating and reduce the thickness of the coating to thatwhich will adhere before it sets. To produce the best results I havefound that the temperature of the solution, after melting takes place,should be raised to 212 F. or 100 C. or even sli htly above this, toincrease its fluidity, at t c time of dipping the package, the effect ofwhich is to deposit on the package a relatively thinner and hot coatingmore easily deprived by a slight vibration recommended of any surpluscoating taken up, and avoiding any setting gctilpn prior to theapplication of the water Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The process of packaging and sealing perishable articles, whichconsists in formmg'a closed package by completely inclosing the article.in a sheet of metal foil, such as tin foil or aluminum foil, preparing amelted paraffin composition containing beeswax and resin, raising thetemperature thereof to effect complete fluidity, and dipping the package.therein to effect a sealing coating thereon throughout the entireexterior surthe article in a sheet of metal foil, deposit-' ing on theexterior of the/package a melted paraffin composition containing beeswaxand resin, subjected to a temperature sufficient to effect completefluidity,'and setting the coating b a water bath.

3. The process of ackaging and sealing perishable articles, w ichconsists in forming a closed package by;completely inclosing thearticlein a sheet of metal foil, depositing thereon a coating of a fluidcomposition of parafiin, resin and beeswax at a high temperature,vibrating the coated package to remove surplus coating, and setting thecoat.- in'g b a water bath.

4. The new product described which is a sealed package comprising aninclo'sin wrapper of metal foil such as tin or aluminum foil, havingfixedly adhering to the entire exterior of the inclosin foil wrapper asealin coating consisting o a composltlon of are n, resin and beeswax.

n testimony whereof I have hereunto aflixed my signature this third dayof June,

JOSEPH NUSBAUM. Witnesses:

I. M. Tums, ALEXANDER PARK.

